Firefighters break into Hong Kong flat to rescue mother and two children amid suicide attempt

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Firefighters broke into a public housing flat to rescue a woman and her five-month-old son and two-year-old daughter after she lit charcoal in a suicide attempt at her home on Lantau on Wednesday afternoon.

Emergency personnel found the 31-year-old woman and her two children conscious in their Mun Yat House flat in Yat Tung Estate in Tung Chung, according to police.

The family of three were sent to North Lantau Hospital for treatment and a medical examination.

The suicide attempt came to light when the woman sent a photograph of a tray of charcoal through her phone to her 55-year-old mother shortly after 1pm.

It is understood the two women had a dispute over domestic affairs before the mother left. She sought help from a security guard who called police at about 1.15pm.

“After firemen broke into the flat, the woman and her two children were found conscious. There was a tray of burning charcoal inside the flat,” a police source said.

He said officers would interview the woman to find out why she wanted to commit suicide.

The source said the 31-year-old might face arrest because her suicide attempt endangered the safety of her two children.

Police from Lantau district are treating the case as an “attempted suicide”.

If you are feeling stressed or in need of support, contact the Samaritan Befrienders’ 24-hour hotline on 2389 2222, Suicide Prevention Services on 2382 0000 or the Society for the Promotion of Hospice Care on 2868 1211